Dave Loebsack for Congress

Meet Dave Loebsack

Dave Loebsack is proud to be working on behalf of the people of Iowa’s Second Congressional District, which encompasses much of Southeastern quarter of the state. Throughout his career, Dave has fought for the needs and priorities of the hard-working men and women across Iowa.

Tough Times Growing Up

Having been born in Sioux City and raised in poverty, Dave knows what it’s like to sit around the kitchen table and worry about having to make the choice between putting food on the table and paying for medications. He and his three siblings were raised by their single-parent mother who struggled with mental illness and wasn’t able to hold down a job. When he was in fourth grade his mother could no longer take care of Dave and his siblings by herself so they moved in with his grandmother.

Despite these tough times, Dave decided that when he grew up, he was going to make something of himself. It took a lot of hard work, pulling himself up, and getting support from his grandmother, teachers, friends, mentors and other supports in the community, to find the strength to overcome personal hardship. His experience growing up, with the support of so many coming together to help make his dreams possible, reinforced his desire to ensure everyone has the same opportunities he had to succeed.

Fighting for Hard-Working Iowans

Dave knows that in order to get the economy running again, we have to build things here at home. To help jumpstart this, he worked on a bipartisan basis to get his workforce development bill signed into law. The legislation helped kicked off a movement to focus on the backbone of our economy – the American people. Dave’s bill helps manufacturing industries collaborate in their community with training providers, colleges, business leaders, schools, and labor to develop and implement ways to not only save and create jobs, but also to save and create entire industries.

Moving forward, Dave will continue to work to create job and grow the economy. He will also fight to rebuild roads and bridges, expand broadband to our rural areas, protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and continue to meet with Iowans where they live, work and play to hear directly from them about the issues they care most about. As Dave travels throughout Iowa, he continues to champion the issues that matter most to Iowa’s hard-working families, seniors, veterans, farmers, students, and small businesses.

Before being elected to Congress in 2006, Dave was a teacher at Cornell College for 24 years. His wife, Terry, taught second grade in Mt. Vernon for 28 years before retiring. Dave and Terry reside in Iowa City and have four grown children and three grandchildren.